The Regulators

Today was Friday so we were packing stuff for our trip to this new boss we needed to fight for Sunri's crystal. It was going to be a super easy boss according to the guide but we had to look out for wind particles as the attacks from those particles cannot be dodged by normal means. The reason mentioned was 'The particles move too fast for anyone without shield to dodge them. Recommended team must contain at least one healer and one member who can use shield.'

It was interesting to note that such details were not given in previous bosses so this one in particular was just tricky.

"Guy, I'll go buy some vegetables and meat for the trip and you all can finish packing rest of the stuff." I said before leaving the dorm. This was going to be our last trip before summer vacations and I wanted to enjoy next weekend all to myself and my two girlfriends. I wanted to give them some time and attention too.

On my way to market, I saw yet another public execution. The king has to do something about this. I put on the mask and jumped in.

How could I tell this was immoral execution? The executions related to religion of Jeyma had executioner wear a white holy cardigan like outfit while those ruled by the king wore complete black cloak.

"Who ruled them guilty?! Didn't your Friar run away?" I shouted as I swooped the men from the stage and placed them on ground.

"Who are you?!" Some guards tried attacking me but I quickly took them out. The gap was too obvious. I had been fighting for almost two months so I had gotten used to my skills to a certain degree.

"I'm the apostle of the Gods." I projected my status into the air for everyone to see. One of the cool things about my status was I could change my personal information and titles whenever I desired. Whenever I showed my status as Kenji, I would show myself as a magicless person but with this new persona I could use all my magic skills without much trouble. This was a skill exclusive to me since I'm in a peculiar situation where I can be killed so it is a handy skill for sure.

I used my shield first and foremost. I had gotten into a habit of starting a major battle with first putting the shield on but then my shield was shattered by an attack.

Just one attack...? The weapon has to be over level 30. I looked around but couldn't see anything or anyone so I used my skill to check status' of others but nothing stuck out.

I can't possibly ignore this. Someone strong enough to break my shield. I decided to use fire magic to burn down the guillotine and quickly flew up to see if I could see that person who shot at me. I first put up another shield but it was quickly shot too. I quickly turned around and saw a clocked person running away. I flew at them and grabbed them by their collars and shoved them right into the ground in an alleyway.

"You dare challenge wrath of Gods?" I asked in a serious tone.

"What is a god to a non-believer?" The person responded before getting up. "Apostle? You're a joke." He took the hood off revealing a man in his mid 40s maybe.

"Why did you shoot me anyways? And what weapon did you use?" I grabbed him by his collars again.

"I can't answer that." He said before he bit something and died.

"What?! You-" I sighed. I have to at least give him a proper burial. I informed knights nearby, as Kenji, about the person and they found poison in his mouth and concluded that it was a suicide. After some formalities I was allowed to go. That weapon... it is a big problem. I have to go on a search and figure out who is behind all of this before they start targeting my classmates. I think James would be on the priority list of this organization since he is the hero.

I wonder how much time I have before they start targeting James. I have to level up faster now. I was thinking of taking a week off but I guess not. We have to get there as quickly as possible.

I started running to the dorm and barged into my apartment.

"Hey? Is everything okay?" Leisha asked in a worried tone.

"I was attacked earlier. I don't know who did it... he killed himself. But whatever this organization is has immobilized people already. I'm worried James might get targeted next."

"You're not hurt, right?" Barbara checked for any wounds but because of my shield, I was in perfect condition.

"We have to get Sunri his crystals and then all four of you would level up before I do. I need your four to be strong enough to handle things. I have a lot of skills that makes me tricky to kill but you guys don't have those kinds of skills. Leisha... I want you to spy on head hunters. They know something they are not telling Sunri."

"They are the kind to hide information... I wouldn't put it past them." He said.

"You have invisibility skill which earlier got you stealth skill, right? Use the crystal and level up during our fight against the enemy tomorrow. I think if you're in same range of levels, it might be difficult for them to notice you."

"As you wish leader!" She saluted. I need to be serious right now but she is so cute.

"And as for rest of us... Let's skip school days and focus on fighting as many monsters as we can. I want to cross my level cap too." I checked my status and I had so many locked skills. "Right now water is my strongest element but next on the list is fire. Once I cross level 30, I will gain a fire ability that would let me create a ring of fire around me. It would also increase my affinity towards fire element. Seems like every 10 levels, I would gain affinity towards different elemental magic all the way till level 80."

The team agreed to the new plan.

For now, going to sleep is better. Since I was attacked earlier, Leisha and Rosaline felt like sleeping with me. While we were in bed, I couldn't get a second of sleep. I kept thinking about future and what it would hold. I'm worried that because of my incompetency, someone else might get hurt. I obviously don't want that to happen. I kept thinking of different strategies and reactions I could use to make fighting as a group more cohesive and efficient. The king is pretty much done for good. He is nearing his death anyways so I can't expect a lot from him.

He must have some children, right? Those who would take the throne after him but since I haven't been to castle since the summoning day, I don't know. My classmates frequents the castle while I'm out and about fighting monsters and boss level enemies. I should go discuss it with them. It is best to be on good terms with the next king in line.

As I cuddled into Leisha and Rosaline, I heard something knock on the window of my room. I quickly got up and checked what it was. A piece of paper...? I picked it up and read through it.

...

Next morning I woke up but Kenji wasn't on the bedside. I quickly searched around the dorm and he was nowhere to be found. Even Leisha looked for him but he was just not there. Today we were meant to leave for the next boss enemy for Sunri, so him not being there on time was really out of the ordinary.

While searching around the dorm, I found a piece of paper in kitchen and on it, Kenji had written the details of the next boss enemy and asked us to go by ourselves since he had important business with the Gods and it needed to be kept a secret for now.

"He could've told us..." I sighed and relayed the information to rest of the NIGHTFALL.

"I mean it's the Gods so it's best not to pry into it too much." Sunri responded.

Well now we have to go by ourselves but it is said that we need someone with shielding ability. Since we don't have Kenji on team for this one battle, we need to rely on Barbara to continuously heal us.

And as planned, we embarked on our short journey to kill Ventus. It was an air elemental monster similar to slime so any kind of element would be effective except nature and Earth magic.

...

It was a dark room with only 13 candles lighting the table across which 13 humans sat.

"So, how sure are you that Kenji is the apostle?" A woman asked. Her most distinct features were star like pattern in her eyes and blonde hair. She wore a suit with fur-coat like all other people in the room.

"I've never been incorrect in my life, now have I?" A man with teal hair color spoke. He had a soft smile on his face visible due to the glow of candle.

"Always so arrogant, aren't we, Ace?" Another woman spoke in a soft tone. Her voice was like a sweet candy. Someone worthy of being a world class singer. Her eyes covered up by a cloth tightly wrapped around her skull.

"I could never be arrogant in front of you bunch. After-all I'm the weakest of us thirteen. If I offend any of you, it wouldn't be long before the regulators become a group of twelve." Ace responded with a chuckle.

"Ace, since you are so confident, I think you should be the one to get rid of Kenji before he becomes a threat to us. His team is not only has crystals but also the boss enemy drops. It would increase their level cap to 50." A man spoke. He looked the youngest in the group but he was sitting on a throne meaning the he was the leader of the group.

"As you wish, your majesty. I knew that I would get the order so I've already placed pawns in the place and have started the mission already. I can understand your majesty so well. Don't you worry. His biggest strength is his team and I've already forced him into leaving the group forever. We have all the summoned ones and his team NIGHTFALL at our disposal. If the time comes, I will use them as hostages." He stood up from the chair and then bowed deeply to the supposed king.

"But your majesty, are you sure Ace is enough to fight Kenji if the time comes? Kenji might be only level 20 but he has quite a few skills. Ace might be level 55, but we can't be too cautious so allow me to accompany him." The women with blonde hair stood up.

"Verga, remember the prophecy? If you fight Kenji, it would result in your demise. Even if he is level capped, the prophecy is never wrong. We have a goal. A goal to create a world without those emotionless Gods. A world of peace and tranquility. It is indeed an ambitious dream so we need to be careful with how we plan and proceed. Kenji represents those Gods in the most physical form. Getting rid of him is an important step in realizing our goals but haste is not desirable either. Ace is our weakest member in terms of level only. He is a skilled genius. Making him fight Kenji would allow us to put a number on Kenji that would be more reliable than a level." The king spoke.

"As you wish, your majesty." Verga sat down again and sighed at the outcome.

Ace took his leave and soon others left the room too.

And with this, hunt for Kenji finally started.